Will CWM landfill run out of room before expansion is allowed?

Local environmentalists are hoping that the CWM Chemical Services landfill in Porter will run out of room before the state can act on allowing it to expand.

Although the company denied that the landfill faces a shutdown in the next couple of years, its own figures suggest that is possible.

As of Sept. 30, the landfill had room for about 283,000 tons, of toxic waste, the state Department of Environmental Conservation said.

CWM spokeswoman Lori Caso said that so far this year, it has received 165,000 tons of waste. At that rate, the landfill will run out of room in less than two years, but the company doesn’t see a shutdown coming.

“We see no scenario where the facility closes down,” Caso said.

Critics are hoping that Caso is wrong.

“That’s what we’re hoping for. We’re hoping they give up and go away,” said April Fideli, president of Residents for Responsible Government.

CWM’s state permit to operate its current hazardous waste landfill, the only such licensed site in the northeastern United States, is due to expire soon.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation said in an unsigned email to The Buffalo News that it expects to handle the renewal of the permit for the existing landfill area by next spring.

After that, the agency said, it will begin work on the permit process for the expansion of the disposal space at the landfill.

The DEC did not respond to requests for information on how long the review of the expansion request would take, but Fideli said it’s clear to her that it might take “another year or two, easily. They may be at the end of their capacity before they get their permit.”